German Patent No. 92 00 772 describes a conventional proximity switch. Here, the sleeve-shaped housing is provided with a number of bores at the level of a centrally arranged light-emitting diode, in order to make it possible to see the switching state of the proximity switch from all sides. A transparent connector insert extending up to in front of the bores serves as an optical waveguide from the light-emitting diode in the direction of the bores. The connector insert is securely connected to connection pins whose ends are electrically connected directly to the printed circuit board, after having been bent. The connector pins with bent ends can be soldered directly onto the printed circuit board.